Crockpot tortellini soup with spinach is a creamy bowl of comfort food that everyone will love. Quick and easy to throw together with frozen tortellini noodles stuffed with cheese or meat! Just $15 serves a family of 5 for dinner. You can even add meat like kielbasa sausage or leftover chicken from the night before.
If you’ve never made Crockpot tortellini soup, you’re missing out. For under twenty bucks you too can make a pot of this easy slow cooker recipe to serve to everyone tonight. It’s truly a throw together and enjoy when you’re home kind of meal. (affiliate links present)
Crockpot Soup with Frozen Tortellini
You only need 6 ingredients for this Crockpot recipe with frozen tortellini and a ladle, then you’re done. Pair it with some bread and BAM…dinner is done! There are many different filled noodles you can choose from at the store. Find them frozen at the grocery store in cheese or beef typically.
You can see the ingredients here. Swap out meat for cheese filled pasta, or use ground beef if you prefer that over sausage. You could even shred rotisserie for Crockpot chicken tortellini soup! Either way this slow cooker soup recipe is incredible.
Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….
- This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
- I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.
Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉
Crockpot Frozen Tortellini Soup
Under $20 to feed a family of 6??!! Totally. Of course if you buy brand names it may be a bit more, organic meat is pricier too. As you can see, 3 out of the 6 are Great Value (Walmart) brand which saves bunches. You don’t have to defrost, cook or thaw what is in the bag first either, just throw it right in!
Any brand works really. If you are on a budget buy whatever is cheapest, if you are choosier about what was inside the bigger brands may have more choices. You can choose vegetarian style, beef, cheese, etc…
If you’re really opposed to vegetables you could leave the spinach out, but really it offers a nice texture and flavor to the dish. Only have vegetable broth on hand? NO worries, use that! As for meat, sliced kielbasa sausage is best. Plumps up in the pot and is precooked so you don’t have to test the internal temp.
Ingredients
- Bag of frozen tortellini noodles stuffed with meat or cheese tortellini, your choice
- Precooked ground sausage, ground beef, ground turkey, chicken sausage or half and half of any of them would be fine
- Chicken broth or make homemade chicken stock
- Cream cheese, don’t use low fat, come on now we want it creamy and we aren’t counting calories today
- Fresh spinach leaves we love
- Large can of diced tomatoes, or could use 1/2 or 1/3 Rotel and the rest diced if you wanted to add a bit of heat
They can either have a meat based filling, or they’re filled with ricotta or spinach. Traditionally cooked in water or broth until tender, tortelloni can also be added to soups to become tender that way (as in this case).
If you feel the broth isn’t thick enough for you at the end you could thicken a bit with a bit more softened cream cheese or whisk a bit of cornstarch with water and stir that in to bubble.
Do you have to precook meat before adding it to soup?
Yes you do, unless it was seafood then it could boil in the broth to cook quickly. You’d need to brown sausage in this case on the stove in a pan. In the case of our Instant Pot sausage soup you can do this with the saute function!
If you want a really low fat version you can even add your proteins into a strainer and have hot water run over the top. When we are eating really clean and healthy I will do this and it helps rinse off a lot of fat. I will say that fat = flavor when it comes to meats. SOoooooo most of the time I will just dump everything in, with the grease.
How to Make Cream Cheese Tortellini Soup in Slow Cooker
- To start you’re going to want to saute your ground meat on the stove top over medium heat.
- When the pink is gone, turn the pot off, drain grease and pour this into your Crock.
- Then you’re going to add the diced tomatoes, I like the petite version with diced chiles in it to add just a touch of heat.
- Pour in the broth and cut block of cream cheese into smaller pieces and on to the top of everything. In order to get a very smooth consistency and not have that separate it is best if you allow the block to come to room temperature first.
- Another tip is to cut it into small blocks or cubes before adding it into your Crock pot. This way it melts easily, and when you stir it it dissolves easily.
- Like I said, if you’d like it to be a bit spicy you could substitute some tomatoes for Rotel. Alternatively a bit of red pepper flakes could be stirred in.
- Cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Ideally you’d be able to stir it twice in this cooking time but if you are unable it is not a deal breaker.
- Once this time is up, stir and add the tortellini and spinach leaves.
- Cover and allow to cook again for an additional 30 minutes so they can get nice and tender.
Is it better to cook soup in slow cooker on low or high?
Personally I do not like to cook less hours on high because I feel it turns out best low and slow…..thus the name of the pot itself y’all. Noodles don’t take long to get tender so check those often especially if you want them al dente when served.
What is the difference between ravioli and tortellini?
Ravioli is two layers of pasta in traditionally a square shape whereas tortellini is one piece of pasta folded into dumpling like shapes. I suppose you could use either or but the latter I feel holds up a bit better since the noodle is a bit thicker.
What is a good side dish for tortellini soup?
Serve in bowls with a side of Crockpot cornbread, a salad or rolls to dip in on the side! It’s a great recipe guest post you can make on busy nights and/or when you’re on a budget.
Want to try another version of this, but cooked a lot quicker with a tomato flair? Try our Instant Pot tomato basil soup with the same pasta.
How long does tortellini soup last?
Well that is IF you have any leftovers, what do you do with them? Allow it to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container or freezer storage bag. Keep in fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in microwave in 30 sec. intervals.
Crockpot Tortellini Soup
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 bag tortellini, frozen, 19 oz bag
- 1 lb ground sausage, ground beef, or precooked shredded chicken
- 1 bag spinach, fresh, 10 oz
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 28 oz, or rotel
- 4 c chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 1 block cream cheese, 8 oz, room temp, cut into cubes
Instructions
- On the stovetop, brown your ground sausage or ground beef. (you could alternatively shred some rotisserie chicken and add that instead). Drain grease from pan and add into your Crockpot.
- Pour in your can of diced tomatoes, broth, and cubes of cream cheese. Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 5 hours. For best results stir twice during this time.
- After this time, add the frozen tortellini and fresh spinach leaves, submerge into the liquid. Cook an additional 15-30 minutes until noodles are warmed into the center and tender to your liking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
